Over the Sea
by zuozhe
Summary: You know that arrancar Sui-Feng fought before Barragan? Well I like Sui-Feng and I felt like she deserved a better opponent than that, so I'm giving her one. By no means will this story or this character be limited to a single battle though. Over the sea he flies, a dragon in his kingdom of the sky. Admiring and protecting his queen, her beautiful majesty, the sea.
1. Chapter 1

_It's nice here._ _So warm, bright, clear, not like the sky in Hueco Mundo._ He always had a habit of looking towards the sky when wrapped in his own thoughts. The sky of Hueco Mundo was dark and drab, not very inviting at all. Still though, he always looked towards the sky. Far above the heads of those beneath it, far beyond the reach of those around him, it was his domain. Barragan could have his precious Las Noches, the sky was his kingdom. So lost was he in the pristine blue that he took no notice even as his comrades fell. He was pulled from his thoughts when Barragan began to move. The old man was more the type to have his subordinates do things than the type to dirty his own hands, so the simple fact that he had begun to stand drew his attention.

"They lost?" Taking his eyes away from what was above he quickly realized the lack of his comrades rieatsu. He answered his own question while Nirgge Parduoc, Barragan's only remaining fraccion aside from himself, persuaded the king to sit while they took care of the Shinigami. He sighed, "Looks like I won't just get to sit this one out after all." He looked about surveying each opponent, trying to find the quickest method of ending the fight. He'd really prefer to just be done with this and move on, his mentality was much the same as Starrk's in that regard. He shared a glance with the laid back Primera, both resigning to the fact that things wouldn't be so simple this time. He ran his fingers through his unkempt black hair in frustration. "Old man," He looked towards Barragan seated to his right, "if I can take down those pillars myself we can be done with this right?"

Barragan simply grunted in response, or perhaps just from being called old man, or perhaps both. He was always the only one that could actually get away with referring to him as anything less than a sovereign, at least until Aizen came along. Still he took the grunt as an affirmative response. He started to move towards the first of the pillars using Sonido, but with just a step his path became blocked. Two of the Shinigami were quick to stand before him, and soon everyone had their own opponents to face. The only thing that came as a surprise was that it had taken this long for someone to make a move. It seems that Starrk and Lilyenette had two captain class Shinigami to themselves, but Starrk was the Primera for a reason. Halibel and her three fraccion had a single very young-looking captain and an older female, which he presumed was a lieutenant. He was assuming that all the Shinigami which had come to stand against Aizen and his strongest espada were of at least lieutenant class. As for the two who had blocked his path, one was a small female captain, as denoted by her haori, and the other a rather large male lieutenant.

He took a moment to size them up, and could tell they did the same. Actually he could tell the captain was doing the same, but the lieutenant was practically trembling. He couldn't help but wonder if his eyes were deceiving him, _This is a lieutenant class Shinigami, right?_ He raised a brow curiously and pointed towards the large one"Is he alright?"

The captain didn't even spare a glance, "Omeada, you're too nervous. Scared? It's been awhile since you've faced a real battle."

"That's not it! I'm excited about fighting!" Even in his own defense he sounded fearful.

She looked over her shoulder for a moment, but quickly turned away again, "You're so pathetic I can't even look at you. This is your chance, go die off in some corner somewhere."

"Why'd you say that! I'm not scared and I'm not nervous!" Omeada struck a brave pose and wore a false smile, but nonetheless he seemed hardly able to stand.

Even from the eyes of an arrancar the scene was, strange, "You know we have the three strongest espada and three former shinigami captains here. I was assuming all of you were at least lieutenant class, was I wrong?"

"No," The female captain drew her zanpakuto as she answered the arrancar, "but don't worry about him. I'll be your opponent."

"Fair enough." He focused his attention towards her and drew his own blade, a European arming sword "Kaisho, Mitsuho Kaisho, might I ask your name?"

She took a fighting stance, "Sui-Feng, 2nd squad captain."

"Fight well 2nd squad captain Sui-Feng. This is to the death." Both of the two were quick to find their own arena, using their Sonido and Shunpo respectively, and leaving all others to their own battles.

They stood just far enough away from the other shinigami and arrancar that they felt their duel shouldn't be interrupted. It quickly became apparent that neither was the type that felt inclined to make the first move. They both remained silent and still waiting for their opponent to take action. "Aren't you going to fight?" Sui-Feng attempted to prod him into motion.

"A duel should be initiated by the challenger," Kaisho maintained his stance, "and even in the grip of death a knight is bound by his code to never turn his back to a foe, to never refuse a challenge from an equal, and to always respect the honor of a maiden."

She couldn't help but smirk in amusement, "And here I thought chivalry was dead."

"Only resting."

"I guess that knight's sword isn't just for show than."

He held his sword a bit higher, "Come, I can't fight you as a woman, but approach me as a challenger and an equal, and I can't refuse."

"Fine," She suddenly tossed out any hesitation and used shunpo to strike from behind, "I can work with that."

Both of them were holding back as they traded their initial blows. They each made it a simple matter for their opponent to block or counter. They were really only interested in acquiring a sense of the opponents strengths, weaknesses, and fighting styles at first.

Kaisho's sword was that of a knight, but his mixed style of swordplay seemed to incorporate both the European styles expected of a knight, as well as the Japanese styles of a samurai. Beyond his sword Sui-Feng quickly found that he was adept at incorporating the attributes of an arrancar into his movements, most prominently his cero. Even when he was holding back she had to be careful not to be caught off guard by it. He hardly showed any need to charge the red cero, though she was quite certain he wasn't putting much power behind it, and demonstrated the ability to fire a cero from multiple points.

As for his opponent, he realized almost immediately that her low stance was a disadvantage for him. Her physical stature was rather small, but she used it to her advantage by attacking her opponents lower body and center of gravity. He personally was accustomed to fighting opponents much larger than himself, so having that suddenly reversed threw him off a bit. He was also at a disadvantage up close, his arming sword being much larger than her wakizashi. He found it rather admirable that she was so able to use her naturally petite structure, normally something that could be seen as a disadvantage or even weakness, as a strength to make much more rapid and precise strikes. Most importantly he was well aware that each of her strikes was aimed carefully towards vital parts of his body, any and each could be a decisive blow in itself.

They stood back from one another after some time of trading blows, both satisfied with their tactical assessments. They let go of their individual fighting stances, though certainly did not drop their guard. Kaisho couldn't help but grin, "I'm starting to enjoy myself kunoichi." He looked up towards the sky again, "I have to thank you. I really can't remember the last time I felt like this, like I had an opponent worth fighting."

"Well I suppose it's good that you'll die happy." She pointed her blade at him.

He brought his gaze back down towards her, "Don't underestimate me Captain Sui-Feng. We're both obviously holding back, and neither of us have released our zanpakuto, but there is one thing you should understand." His face became one of annoyance for a moment and something could be seen moving on his back. Soon enough, and his expression changed to relief at the moment, a part of his shirt was ripped open and what had been moving could be seen. The skeletal frame of two large wings protruded from his back just beneath his shoulder blades. The bones were an ashen color and were extending and folding several times. "Much better." he curved the left wing, if that would be the appropriate term, around his body and ran his hand along its edge, "Even if these wings are only bone it still gets so uncomfortable to keep them restrained for too long. I'm glad this is the fragment that remained after becoming an arrancar though, a dragon greatly cherishes his wings."

"Dragon?" Admittedly Sui-Feng didn't expect to see wings.

"Ironic isn't it?" He held up his sword, "A combination of a knight and a dragon. I digress though. The one thing you need to understand is that Old-Man-Barragan is the second espada," He motioned towards him atop his throne, "but I'm easily capable of taking the position myself. I am the only vasto-lorde outside of the espada, and even before becoming an arrancar I followed Barragan only out of convenience. Perhaps I'm still not on par with Starrk, but to recognize me as anything less than an espada will bring only death."

She clenched the grip of her blade. On average the combat prowess of a vasto-lorde was perhaps greater than a captain, and the transformation to an arrancar could raise those abilities to an unknown extent, maybe he would be twice as strong, or three times, or ten times. Granted she was confident in her own abilities, but suddenly had no idea what her opponent might be capable of. "Vasto-lorde, I see. If that's the case I won't be able to hold back." She took her wakizashi in her left hand and placed her right along the blade, "Sting all enemies to death," He blade began to glow brightly, "Suzumebachi."

"I shall respond in kind." Kaisho raised his sword above his head, "Take to the skies," A faint light glistened on the tip of his blade, and flashed brightly around him as he brought it down in a sweeping motion, "Doragon."


	2. The Dragon

"Take to the skies, Doragon." The light obscured him from view for just a moment. It faded just as quickly as it had appeared, and revealed what was indeed, a dragon. That would have to be the best way to describe Kaisho's new look. His ashen colored skeletal wings were now only a part of the entire structure that covered his body like a suit of armor. The bone armor had formed rather menacing claws around his hands and feet, and even a tail extended from the base of his spine. His face was covered by bone aside from his eyes, and bits of his hair protruded from the mask around his eyes. His blade was now gone, and his body had become his weapon. Even as soon as he adopted another fighting stance Sui-Feng felt her previous assessments may have been for naught. His stance was now one of a martial artist, not a swordsman. She knew his style would be completely different now, and held her position to reassess.

Since the fight had already begun she didn't really expect him to wait as he had done before, but she didn't expect him to be so quick either. She didn't see the slightest movement, not so much as a twitch or even a hint that he was going to move. She was still watching the spot that he had just been when his strike was inches away. Her skill in Shunpo was arguably the greatest since "The Flash Goddess" Yorouichi, and she had completely missed his movement. It even took Shunpo to just barely dodge his strike. It wasn't just a single strike though.

His claws were not his only weapon. As he passed by her his wing thrust out like a lance. She was able to deflect it with Suzemabachi, but he used his tail to bring a third strike into a single move. The appendage struck like a mace across her spine with bone-crushing force.

As he came to a stop he flicked her haori off his tail and looked back to see her unscathed, "A double, you have an affinity for the Shinigami's art of Shunpo. I've chosen a good opponent, the more brutish types are so boring." He turned towards her again and adopted a stance once more, "It's meaningless to search for what isn't there. My entire body is both sword and shield, you will find no opening in either my defense or offense. You'll have to create one if you wish to end this."

She took a slow breath, never removing her gaze from him. _I can see it._ _I could follow Yorouichi-sama, and he's not that fast. I just need to focus. He's right, I underestimated him for not being an Espada, I won't make the same mistake twice. _She calmed her mind, steadied body, and prepared herself. _There!_ She saw it clearly as he moved again with Sonido. He moved downward, he would attack from below. She jumped back as he rose towards her, ready to strike as his attack missed. She stopped her counter attack at seeing him, holding out her haori.

"That's better. You seem to have recognized me as an equal now. Let's begin this again, 2nd squad Captain, Sui-Feng."

She snatched away her captain's haori with a grin, and they both stepped back a few feet. "I don't like wearing this against an equal opponent." She tossed away the white garment, "Let's finish this now, Second Espada Mitsuho Kaisho."

Each took their own stance and began with the words, "Fight well, this is to the death."

It may have been a fight to the death, in the middle of a war-zone, and amongst numerous similar battles, but somehow, Sui-Feng couldn't deny that she was enjoying herself. Kaisho was such a wonderfully skilled opponent, and with an artistic speed based style much like her own. She hadn't had a well matched opponent in a long time, and despite all that was happening around her, she was having fun. Her usually expressionless features held a rarely observed smile that just wouldn't leave.

His bone armor covered most of his face, but still it was evident that Kaisho was feeling the same. She managed to follow, and even match his movements. It was a welcome treat to find such a high-caliber opponent. Blow for blow they kept their opponent in place, neither ever seeming to gain ground. With only brief pauses to regain footing and a quick breath they continuously pressed one another with a torrent of Sonido and Shunpo fueled strikes. In mere seconds they traded enough blows for a dozen battles, and honestly they were enjoying themselves too much to care about anything happening in the world around them. Still though, as they took yet another brief pause, Kaisho simply, stopped. He made no move to attack again, he took no stance, he left himself entirely vulnerable, and his eyes, somehow, changed.

Normally Sui-Feng would simply take the opportunity and be done, but for once she had no interest in ending the fight. Beyond that she couldn't help but feel curious. It wasn't like he was an old friend, but still she could see something was very wrong in his eyes. He was so focused on their fight, but very abruptly his mind was entirely elsewhere. He actually looked afraid, but not for himself.

"Sui-Feng-Taicho!" Omeada's shout prompted a swift fist to his face as he ran up to his captain.

She didn't look away from Kaisho, nor give Omeada any further acknowledgment. "My apologies," He completely let go of any fighting intent, and stood casually, "forgive me 2nd squad captain Sui-Feng, but I cannot continue this duel." The ashen bone covering his body faded, aside from his wings and formed back into his blade. Without another word he sheathed his arming sword and turned about.

"Doesn't a knights code forbid him from turning his back to an opponent?" Suit-Feng prodded.

It took a moment, but he gave his answer, "There is something more precious to me than my code." With Sonido he left her sight, and left her captain's haori in his place.

She took her haori from the air where he had just been, sealing Suzemabachi's Shikai and sheathing it again. She turned away and walked back towards the gathering of allies and enemies alike.

"Sui-Feng-Taicho," Omeada followed awkwardly, "shouldn't we find him?"

She placed her haori on once again, "There's more important matters to deal with. We should prioritize and take out the stronger enemies first. He's not even an Espada."


	3. The Sea

_It isn't very nice here, so dark, and dull. Not much of a kingdom at all. I'll find a better one someday. _He looked away from the eternal night sky of Hueco Mundo as a hollow approached.

"Kaisho, Barragan-sama wants Halibel brought before him."

"Again? She's not going to join his army." He stood on the edge of the stone spire high above the sands below, "I guess there's no use in telling him that though. They're equally stubborn. Is that all?"

"That's all."

He made no reply before disappearing with Sonido. The lesser Hollow returned to his sovereign as Kaisho set out towards the shark-like Vasto Lorde Halibel.

Barragan continuously tried to convince Halibel to join his ranks, which was understandable. It was entirely possible that she was the only Vasto Lorde in Hueco Mundo aside from himself and Kaisho. Being a Vasto Lorde class menos himself made him akin to a god to the lesser hollow of Hueco Mundo, and having all other Vasto Lorde at his side would make him an absolute almighty force in his kingdom.

Perhaps another, possibly greater, reason for his insistence on having her join him, was that he knew full well that Kaisho was stronger than him. Halibel was a Vasto Lorde, but he could handle her if needed. Kaisho, however, was beyond his ability. The dragon-like Vasto Lorde had no interest in ruling Las Noches, and followed Barragan to some extent only because it was convenient. If he didn't join Barragan he'd be constantly hounded by his subjects till he did, or till he killed Barragan. It was simply easier to join up and let Barragan keep his throne. The lesser hollow couldn't see the gap in strength, but Barragan and Kaisho both knew who would win in their duel.

Halibel also knew. She was a Vasto Lorde as well so she could tell they were on different levels. It didn't serve any of them to let on that the God-King of Las Noches could be overshadowed by his right-hand-man, so for the moment none did. Barragan wanted to be able to keep watch on someone who held onto his most closely guarded secret though, and if he was careful and lucky enough, it could provide him with a trump card against Kaisho.

He came to a halt at the entrance to Halibel's hideout. Despite what Barragan liked everyone to believe, he had no idea where this place was. Halibel and the female Adjuchas that lived alongside her knew, and beyond that it was just Kaisho. He descended the spiral staircase to the main room, where he was greeted by Halibel, "Kaisho, has Barragan sent you?"

"Halibel-Chan, yes he has."

"Um..." Appacci called their attention, "I'm sorry, Halibel-sama, but,"

"Oh," Kaisho answered her question before she asked, "my apologies," He gave a courteous bow I didn't realize that there was a new face here. Mitsuho Kaisho, Barragan's unofficial right hand."

"We'll continue elsewhere." Halibel ascended the spiral stairs with Kaisho, silently entrusting Sun-Sun and Mila Rose to explain the situation to Appacci.

As soon as she figured both Vasto Lorde had left earshot Sun-Sun took the initiative on the silent request, "Don't worry, you can trust him."

"But he said that he was Barragan's right hand, and wasn't he a Vasto Lorde like Halibel-sama?"Appaci looked from Mila Rose to Sun-Sun repeatedly.

Mila Rose scoffed, "You don't need to worry about it, and you don't need to trust him either. Just trust Halibel-sama, and leave it to her."

* * *

"Not a sun, not a star, not even a cloud, not much of a kingdom at all is it?"Kaisho looked towards Halibel over his shoulder.

"You're always looking at the sky." She moved to stand next to him on the spire, "There's nothing to see, it's just an ocean of darkness."

"Exactly, just a darkness waiting for a light, just a canvas waiting for an artist, just a kingdom waiting for a king."

"A false sun won't bring day to an endless night."

"That's fine, I already have a real one." He shifted his attention away from the sky.

"So why haven't you taken it to the sky yet?"

"I will, someday, I'll bring light to this world. You'll see, the sky will be different on that day, I'll find a better one."

"You should hurry." Halibel turned away and walked to the opposite edge, "I don't know if I'll be able to wait for you." With her own Sonido she vanished from his sight.

Kaisho continued to stare at the spot where she had just stood, "You'll see, someday, we'll take to the skies, we'll see the sun together, Halibel-Chan."

"That's a strange thing to say isn't it? Bringing day to a place of eternal night, sure you can handle that Kaisho?"

"You shouldn't underestimate me, Gin."

The shinigami Ichimaru Gin gave his characteristic sly grin, "Don't worry, I know better than that. Aizen-sama was hoping to meet the king of Las Noches. Think he could find an opening in his schedule."

"I'm sure we could work something out. In fact I don't think he's busy at all today. You should drop by, Old-Man-Barragan doesn't often have the chance to entertain guests."

"I'm sure Aizen-Taicho will be glad to hear that. Let him know we're coming."

"I think it'd be best to surprise him. Tell Aizen-Sama to visit whenever he likes."

"Alright, we'll see you soon than." He started to disappear himself.

Kaisho stopped him at the last moment, "And Gin,"

"Hm?"

"Good luck."

"Yeah," He opened his eyes for a change to respond, "good luck."

They both returned to their respective leaders with Shunpo and Sonido.

* * *

Later on Kaisho stood beside Barragan as he usually did. The king on his throne, the subjects kneeling before him, and Kaisho on his right. "So tedious." Barragan thought aloud, "Nothing is more meaningless than an army with no enemy to conquer. Even if I tried to find one there's none who would oppose me."

"One who excels at everything will find joy in nothing." Kaisho added to the thought, "I've thought about fighting this 'army' myself just to kill time, but there's no question as to how it would end."

"Indeed, it's meaningless to fight when the outcome is inevitable." There was a moment of silence, in which Barragan probably considered splitting his army in two and watching them fight, but it was broken by a dying scream. All the gathered hollow looked out to see others fall as three individuals approached the king. Several tried to fight, but were quickly cut down. Barragan told them to wait as the three came into view, "This is a welcome diversion." He had said.

The one who seemed to be leading them spoke to Barragan, "It's an honor to meet you. I am Aizen, Aizen Sosuke. You are the King of Hueco Mundo, Barragan, are you not?"

"I am indeed." He stood from his throne, "Now what are you. You're obviously not Hollow, are you Human, or perhaps Shinigami?" He huffed, "It doesn't matter I suppose. I had grown bored. Had you not shown up I probably would've split my army in two and had them fight to the death."

Kaisho couldn't help but raise a brow at how predictable that seemed.

"At any rate." Barragan continued, "I suppose I should welcome you. Welcome to my castle, Las Noches."

Tousen scoffed at the term castle, "You mean this place with no walls and no ceiling is a castle? How amusing."

"I have no need of a roof. The very sky of Hueco Mundo serves as the roof of my castle."

Kaisho couldn't help but look upward and lose himself yet again at the mere mention the sky. _Barragan, if my kingdom serves as your roof, than your kingdom serves as nothing more than my floor on which I walk. _He had to smile beneath his mask as he entertained the notion further. He heard Aizen release his zanpakuto, and knew that Barragan now fell under its power of complete hypnosis. Gin and Tousen slaughtered the lesser hollow effortlessly as Barragan remained unaware of what happened around him.

It was almost laughable to hear the shock in his voice when Aizen released the effect and Barragan watched helplessly. Tousen and Gin ceased any attempt at resistance from the king with their own blades held to him. Barragan looked back over his shoulder and called out, "Kaisho! What are you doing you fool! Get down here!"

Kaisho nonchalantly walked down the stairs and by Barragan to stand behind Aizen, "My apologies Old-Man-Barragan, but it's meaningless to fight when the outcome is inevitable. Aizen-Sama is beyond my ability."


End file.
